Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's a great privilege to be able to stand today to sum up what the week looked like. Earlier on in the day there was a Q&A that one of our little local papers, the Gatton Star, sent out to some people around the electorate. They were asking questions like, 'What are some of the things that you've achieved?' and, 'What's it like to be a politician?' One of my answers was, 'It's a great honour to be a federal politician and to be able to influence the direction of the country.' Today was evidence of that. Today, 63,095 workers in my electorate are better off as a result of the biggest tax cuts that this country has seen in generations. You can go home and know that you're making a difference.

We'll have the argy-bargy in here of, 'My tax cuts are bigger than yours,' or, 'You should have done more.' Just stop and have a look at what we have achieved in a hostile Senate environment. Credit to those who negotiated, with the complexities of the crossbenchers in the Senate, to get these measures through. Basically, what we did was to lower the tax rate, which addresses bracket creep for the country. We lowered the tax rates for every Australian that was aspiring to move up into the next tax bracket. Now, everyone pays the same rate of tax: 32 per cent. Now they can take an extra shift without being penalised. If their gross wage was hovering just underneath the next bracket, there was no incentive. In fact, sometimes, under the current regime, they were financially worse off if they took those shifts, because they'd sneak up into the next bracket. That's what we refer to as bracket creep.

Our plan creates winners. Unlike those on the other side, who advocated for class warfare, we stood up and made sure that our teachers, our policemen, our nurses and those making contributions to our community are better off. Those on the other side refer to those workers as the top end of town. Well, they're not the top end of town. They're the fabric of my community. I opened up with my comments about influencing the direction of the country; they influence the direction of our communities through what they do on a daily basis. I'm proud to go back into my community and hail from the loudest speakers that everyone in my community will be better off.

Our message is not going to be complicated when we go to an election: jobs and growth. We believe in smaller government and we believe in smaller taxes. Those on the other side have a different philosophy: larger taxes. If you're a pensioner, Labor is coming for you. If you're a self-funded superannuation retiree, Labor is coming for you. If you've got a rental home, if you have aspiration, Labor is not your friend.

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